Trainfest and open houses

[iawestern]

Greetings,

I will be attending Trainfest in Milw this Saturday only.  Will there be any model railroad club open houses Saturday afternoon/evening?

Thanks!

Mark 

 

 

[dknelson]

Mark, in the past, at least two local clubs have held open houses on the Saturday night after Trainfest closes. I have no absolute word on this but I believe (and certainly hope) that both will be open as usual this year.  And both will be represented at Trainfest so you can get maps and definitive information. 

North American Prototype Modelers (NAPM) on Milwaukee's south side is a huge HO layout, much of it with complete scenery, and lots of operating trains.  http://www.napmltd.org/   They have a display with many photos at Trainfest. 

The Milwaukee N Southeastern is a nice sized N scale club with lots of signature scenes, and the members own a variety of top quality N scale trains.  They are located in Suburban Cudahy WI.  http://www.mnse.org/  They will have their portable modular layout at Trainfest and will be happy to answer any questions.   

I might add that both of these layouts are in basements, in situations without any particular good access for the disabled so if that is an issue for you be aware before you decide to visit.

I seem to recall that some years the Model Railroad Club of Milwaukee has been open that night, but I have no real contacts within that group.  This venerable O scale club might almost be regarded as the birthplace of the NMRA back to the early 1930s.  Al Kalmbach and other hobby pioneers were members and it is located under former Milwaukee Road tracks in what had been some sort of station just a few blocks "railroad east" (south) of the downtown depot.

If you stop by the NMRA booth during Trainfest perhaps the folks staffing the booth will know of other operating home layouts that will be open for tours.  With the death of Mike Ziegler the incredible Conowingo Central is no longer open for Trainfest tours although there is every intention of working with his family so that it can be open and enjoyed during the NMRA National Convention in Milwaukee in 2010. 

Mark if you are going to be at Trainfest on Saturday try to stop by the Kalmbach booth at high noon for our annual group photo of Trains.com forum participants.  Matt Van Hattem of Trains magazine has told us he will be joining us for the photo.

Dave Nelson

 

 

[kschmidt]

I can verify that the MNSE will be open on Saturday after Trainfest from about 7pm to 9pm.  Like Dave says we will be at Trainfest available for questions. 

Keith

[dknelson]

Addendum to my prior post (and to Keith's) -- Joe Russ who maintains a local website, The Schedule Board, has provided a larger list of layouts that will be open than I was aware of.  here is Joe's email:

 Hi all,

This weekend is, of course, Trainfest. After Trainfest on Saturday night there have been a growing number of layouts open for unofficial tour. I often heard that it would be nice if someone had a map and schedule of these layouts, so this year I put one together. You can find it at

http://tinyurl.com/posttrainfesttours

There might be some last minute changes/additions but right now it appears pretty solid. The only thing I ask is that you do not show up before the scheduled start time as these hosts may like a chance to enjoy dinner.

You can also find the Milwaukee-Area Railfan Guide map at www.scheduleboard.net.

Hope to see you at Trainfest.

       Joe Russ

.AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}